


Caged

by castamyre



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: During Timeskip (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Gen, Hapi Week 2021, Singing, Vague Discussion of Past Trauma, horrible bastardized birthday cake dot jpeg, no beta we die like Glenn, slightly late as usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28688898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castamyre/pseuds/castamyre
Summary: Hapi gets unwanted attention. For Hapi Week 2021, day 1, "singing".
Relationships: Hapi & Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Caged

**Author's Note:**

> _I don't sing much; that's not an answer_  
>  _I don't walk much, but you're a dancer_  
>  \- Mt. Eddy, "Chroma"

Cleaning was never Hapi’s idea of a great time, but eh. It needed to be done. In the stagnant air of the underground, dust built up like no other, and it always kicked up Yuribird’s allergies.

Plus, if nothing else, it was a way to pass the time. To stifle her boredom. Occupy her hands. Distract her from the inescapable monotony of Abyssian life. Keep her from ennui.

It wasn’t always this way. There was that brief, glorious year with the professor, before the war broke out, when the Church loosened their iron grip on Abyss, and actually let them out onto the surface every once in a while. But then the professor died, or disappeared, or something. Doesn’t matter. Point is, they’re not here anymore. And so, life went back to its banal, sobering normal.

They could, in theory, leave. The Church had abandoned the grounds above, their energies focused on finding the Archbishop. They’d _probably_ never find out if she just slipped away into the forest. But, at least for now, it wasn’t worth the risk. Goddess knows what might happen if they caught her.

Plus, they had their reasons to stick around. Yuri was a leader, a pillar of the community. People relied on his presence there, and he was too magnanimous to leave them behind. Constance could avoid the harsh rays of the sun, and do her esoteric research in relative secrecy. Balthus was the only one brave enough to leave, currently roving the continent with goddess-knows-who, but even he would drop by for a few weeks every once in a while. And Hapi... had nowhere else to go, really.

Where _could_ she go? She was a real, genuine risk to everyone around her. She could try to go back to the village, but that would just put them all in danger. If she ever lost control, if she ever let her guard down, the villagers wouldn’t even have the materiel to fight the beast off. Timotheos would be gone. And it’d be her fault.

So she stayed in Abyss, dull as it ever was, and dusted the space behind the bed.

She enjoyed the peace and quiet, at any rate. She enjoyed these little moments of solitude, and she enjoyed the freedom from judgment. No one around to give her weird stares when she unconsciously whistled a working song. Or worse yet, sang it out loud.

Singing was... cathartic. Nostalgic, in a way. She sang when she was comfortable. And she was never more comfortable than when she was alone.

And so, now, she sings. Nothing terribly impressive - no boisterous loudmouthed ballad, no grand operatic solo, no upbeat jazzy showstopper, just, you know... a song. A private little show in a private little moment. 

\---

The show ends with a knock on her open door. “Hey Hapi?”

She’d sigh, if she could. “Hey, B. Whatcha need?”

“Eh, nothing,” Balthus answers from the doorway. “Just thought I heard you singing.”

She would _sigh_ , if she _could_. “Yeah, I’m just doing a bit of cleaning. Sometimes I sing while I work. Nothing special.”

“That’s cool. You’ve got a real pretty singing voice, ya know. I’m kinda jealous.”

She sits down and turns to face him. “Jealous, huh? I never took you for a singer, B.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m not.” He leans against the creaky doorframe, trying to be subtle. It’s not subtle. “I don’t sing, I yell.”

“Hm. Can’t say I’ve ever heard you try.”

“Heh. Then maybe I’ve just never been drunk enough.” He smiles to himself. “But the ladies love a singer. I’d be a real catch if I had your talent for it.”

She stifles a laugh. “Maybe so, B.”

“...Anyway. Need any help with the cleaning?”

“Nah. Thanks, though.”

He ducks out, and she’s alone once again.

...You know, while she’s at it, she may as well finally get around to rearranging the bookcase. Everything’s all out of order, and half the books are just sitting haphazardly on the edge of the shelf. Better to do it while she’s already in a cleaning mood on a boring day, at least, and it can’t take too long. And so she works, and so she sings.

\---

“Hapi!”

Maybe she should close the door. “Sothis, Coco, you scared me!”

Constance, as ever, is undeterred. “Hapi, I require your assistance at once! I am on the verge of a magnificent discovery!”

“Can it wait, like, five minutes?”

“Progress waits for no one, Hapi!”

She bottles another sigh. The woman is unrelenting when she thinks she’s onto something. “Fine. Just give me a second to finish this.”

It’s not that Constance is impatient. She can wait when she needs to. She just waits faster than most. She paces hurriedly round the room while Hapi finishes sorting.

“Also” - Constance speaks as if continuing a thought - “I _must_ know what you were singing just now. It was quite beautiful.”

It’s just Hapi Performs For Everyone Day, then. “It was nothing, really. Just a working song.”

“Well, it sounded quite poetic. It would fit nicely in my _extensive operatic repertoire_ , and you make a _lovely_ alto.”

Hapi isn’t sure how she made her voice do that. “I... really dunno about that one, Coco.”

“Nonsense! You should take pride in singing. It is a grand and noble skill to pursue.”

“Whatever.”

\---

An hour later, she’s back in her room. Being a research assistant to Constance von Nuvelle, the greatest living magical scientist, is of course a high honor bestowed only to the worthiest few members of her inner circle. Unfortunately, however, her current inner circle is exactly three people, and Yuri and Balthus just aren’t cut out for the job. So Hapi does what she must.

It’s also a very demanding position. Hapi sits on her bed a moment to recover. She takes a deep breath, and tries not to exhale too quickly.

And then she gets back to work, making sure to close the door behind her this time. And so, her solitude regained, she sings.

\---

“Beautiful song, Hapi.”

Oh, come on. “Gah! You’re even worse than Coco, Yuribird.”

Yuri smiles. “I’m a sneaky little bitch, I know. Need any help?”

“Not... really. How long have you been there?”

“Eh, not long. Two minutes, give or take.” He’s sitting on her dresser. Was he there the whole time? When did he open the door? “I just thought I’d drop by. Hadn’t seen you all day.”

“Well, I’m fine. Just doing a bit of cleaning.” Deja vu.

“Cool.” He hops down, but not to leave. He’s got that look on his face. The one that means he wants something. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard you sing before, by the way. You’ve got quite the voice for it.”

Goddess, is there no such thing as privacy anymore? “I don’t really like singing in front of people. It’s just not my thing.”

He crosses his arms. “Hm. Shame. You’re not bad, you know.”

“That’s not the point,” she objects. “It’s embarrassing. I don’t like doing it.”

He scoffs. “Please. I’m sure you’ve done far more _embarrassing_ things” - he gestures mockingly, as if he knows something - “than sing a little song for someone.”

Hapi’s had about enough of this. “What do you want, Yuri.”

“Nothing!” He throws his hands up in innocence. “Seriously, nothing. I’m just saying, you’re a great singer, and I’d love to hear you sing more.”

“Hm.” She smirks. “Maybe if _you_ sing along.”

“No.”

“Oooh, so _emphatic_.” She copies his gesture from before. “What, no song from the Yuribird?”

“I don’t sing, Hapi.”

“Hmph. Spoilsport.”

The swagger in his voice is gone now, replaced with a bitter sting. The tone that reminds you that he is, in fact, a hardened criminal. She makes the smart decision not to push him further, and silence lingers in the musty air for a moment.

Yuri is the first to break it. “Well, I have my own matters to attend to. Just thought I’d check in on you.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She’s lost her edge as well. “I’ll... see you around.”

He smiles, and takes his leave. “And you as well.”

Not three seconds later, he pokes his head back in. “By the way, have you seen what Constance is up to in there? Ridiculous stuff.”

“Oh, trust me, I know. She hit me with one head-on.”

He snorts. “Unbelievable.”

\---

Taking a stroll through the market is about as “outside” as you can get within Abyss. There’s still no sunlight, but there is about a hundred feet of open air above you, and occasionally you might even catch a light breeze. It’s certainly more refreshing than staying holed up in a dank hallway all day.

It’s also, unfortunately, the _loudest_ part of Abyss, so it’s never as soothing as you want it to be.

The busiest length of Burrow Street, as the locals have so affectionately named it, is packed nearly wall-to-wall with merchants peddling various ill-gotten, ill-mannered, and generally ill-advised goods. Most of the more reputable traders set up shop along the outskirts, daring not to cross them.

Nestled along the sides of Burrow Street, though, are some of Hapi’s favorite spots in the underground. A small hole in the northern wall, a drab and unassuming rug draped over its mouth, gives way to the most gorgeous view in the cave. On the other side of the tunnel is a frankly dangerous little ledge, with room enough for a particularly brave adventurer to sit and watch the river below. The noise from the market doesn’t reach this part of the valley. Only the sounds of the waterfall a little ways upstream.

But this time, as she pulls back the curtain, she hears a different sound coming from within. A voice. A song. Someone’s singing. Quite beautifully, at that.

This piques her interest. The ledge wasn’t exactly a top secret location, but she’d never run into anyone down here before. It was her little corner.

As she sidles along the tunnel wall, she begins to make out the lyrics more clearly.

Oh goddess. It’s her fucking song. The one she’s been singing all day. Coming from someone else. In her hiding spot.

Suddenly, she recognizes the glossy, silken voice echoing out into the valley. She pokes her head out of the exit, and it’s none other than Yuri Leclerc.

She’s tempted not to say anything, lest it ruin his moment of peace. She owes him that much. But at the same time, she’s already intruded on his hideaway, and there’s room for two on the ledge.

“Yuribird.”

He instinctively reaches for a knife. He thought he was alone. He thought he was safe, hidden. He lets his guard down for one second, and- and-

A thousand different emotions flash across his face when he meets the eyes of his assailant. Panic and fear, first, then recognition, relief. Confusion. Embarrassment. Regret. He says nothing, but he lowers his knife. For once, he’s not sure what to say.

“Hey, hey,” she recoils. “It’s just me.”

“You... you scared me,” he admits.

“Sorry. I didn’t think anyone else really knew about this spot.”

He relaxes, if only slightly. “I come here occasionally. Good spot to clear my head.”

“You mind if I join you?”

“...I guess not.”

He slides over to give her space to sit down. It’s a bit precarious, but they’re safe. They’re alone.

It’s quiet again for a minute. They listen to the waterfall, biding their time.

Hapi is the first to speak up. “You’re a really good singer.”

“Thanks.” Yuri’s voice is neither smooth nor sharp anymore. It’s soft, and low. Heavy. Weighed down by something.

The river below rumbles on.

“You wanna talk about it?”

He looks up. “About what?”

“Singing.”

“Not really.”

“Cool.” She pushes no further.

The waterfall roars in the distance. It seems louder now. Heavier.

A few thousand gallons of water pour over its mouth every second. From there, they flow southward, out of the cave, and into the great Airmid River, which carries them out to the vast, open sea, miles upon miles away.

“When I was in the capital,” he says. “Enbarr. World-famous opera company there.”

The falls slowly eat at the rocky outcropping, as all rivers do. Limestone dust from the cave can make it as far as Almyra.

“Plenty of rich nobles who wanted everything to do with it. To have a piece of it, all to themselves.”

In a handful of millennia, they’ll be gone. Eroded away. A small blip on the geological timeline. The river will flow smoothly and silently downward.

“I was... never in the opera. But I could sing, and I was pretty, and- and young, and...”

Every so often, a drop of water falls into the stream from a stalactite above. It makes a tiny, undetectable _plop_ , drowned out by the roar of the waterfall.

“And I was close enough.”

“...Oh.” She understands.

“Yeah.”

“That’s awful.”

“I know.”

The river below rumbles on.

“So I... don’t like to sing. For other people. Not anymore.”

“I get it.”

For another minute, silence. The waterfall has quieted down again.

Hapi thinks for a moment. Lets Yuri’s words sink in.

Then it’s her turn. “That song I was singing. It was from my mom.”

Yuri perks up slightly. “Oh?”

“Yeah. She used to... she used to sing it a lot around the house. Especially when I went to sleep.”

At the head of the river lies a small, ancient glacier, thousands of years old. Buried deep within the mountains, untouched by man.

“And then, when I left, and... was kidnapped, I would sing it to myself.”

It used to be far larger, and is slowly melting still. Born in an age far colder than the present, long before humans had tainted the land.

“But the woman who took me, she didn’t like it. Me singing. Wanted me to be silent.”

One day, it, too, will be gone. A memory kept only by the scars in the earth. The river will make its source elsewhere.

“And she... had her ways.”

“...Oh.” He understands.

“Yeah.”

“That’s terrible.”

“I know.”

The river below rumbles on.

“There’s another verse, that my mom would sing, that I just never learned.”

“Damn,” he says, because what else is there to say? “I’m really sorry.”

“Eh, don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

“Still sucks.”

“It’s all in the past now,” she counters. “I just try not to think about it.”

“Fair enough.”

The waterfall is silent, now. Too distant to hear.

“But yeah,” she continues, “that song, it- it just... I don’t know. It reminds me of home, I guess.”

“Mm.”

In a thousand-thousand years, the river will be gone. In a thousand-thousand years, the glacier will have melted, and the mountain will have moved, and the cave will have collapsed. In a thousand-thousand years, the stalactites slowly dripping into the stream will be one with the stalagmites on its bank. In a thousand-thousand years, there will be no more roaring waterfall, nor precarious ledge where you can hear it. But for now, the river below rumbles on.

After a few minutes, Hapi speaks up again. “By the way, how’d you know that song?”

“The one I was singing?” Yuri looks up. “I didn’t, actually. I was just singing what I heard from you.”

“...Huh.”

“It’s a pretty little thing. You oughta teach me the rest of it sometime.”

She scoffs, but hesitates a second. “Maybe I will.”

He smiles. It’s a real, genuine smile, unlike that nefarious little charmer he shows off to curry favor. “I’d appreciate that.”

Hapi leans back against the rock wall. It’s not exactly comfortable, but there are worse places to be, and worse people to be there with. She closes her eyes for a minute, takes in the sounds of the cave, of the waterfall upstream, of the river below.

Yuri leans back beside her. She can hear his gentle breath, barely, over the ambience. It’s soft, steady. Relaxed. For once, he’s not tense, not on edge, not paranoid. He’s just there, in the moment, sitting on a precarious ledge. Hidden away from the outside world. Uncorrupted, untouched. Alone.

And so, as the river rumbles on, they sing.

**Author's Note:**

> I rewrote this fic like four times. It is the bane of my existence. I am so sorry. [Wonderful Hapi sketch for your time](https://twitter.com/geewips/status/1330580567574913024?s=20), by geewips on twitter. Happy Hapi Week, and Hapi birthday.
> 
> follow me on twt as ever @ [castamyre](https://twitter.com/castamyre) for even more incoherent nonsense


End file.
